So when exactly does a song stop being recent and become retro? What's the cut-off date between a new song and an old one?

I remember in the early days of this forum someone posting a Vengaboys song and getting somewhat slated because it wasn't seen as Retro at the time (circa 2007-08), the cut-off point seen as being around the millennium. But I think we can safely put the first half of the noughties here now, right?

For me, 2005 is the last year I genuinely see as being far off in the past, 2006 being a bit transitionary and 2007 being the start of recent music, probably because I turned 18 in late 2006 and things like Facebook and Youtube (and Buzzjack!) emerging online, meaning the late noughties seem far more familiar to me than the mid. But that must sound bizarre for someone age 20...if someone in 2008 had told me that they considered 1998 onwards to be 'recent' I'd have laughed at them! So I suppose it depends on age as well as musical trends.

Well certainly 2007 was more modern dance wise, we saw the end of the funky house era and the start of the electro and minimal domination in dance. 2007 also saw the start of Rihanna becoming a major pop star and the arrival of Adele to the charts. We also had the rise of soft rock ballads such as Apologise and How To Save A Life becoming big hits and that translates now into the likes of Ed Sheeran and Rag n'Bone Man.

However in 2008 we had stuff that sounds retro now like the eurodance such as Basshunter/Sash vs Stunt and nothing like that could never be a hit now.

I'd go with the "nostalgia factor" which is when people start looking back fondly on their childhood and early teens through the music that was around then, and that usually kicks in about ten years on, 15 at a pinch. The early noughties were a long time ago now. I joined in 2012 and retro was 90's and earlier, or 12 years back. So it should now be at least 2005 and earlier, arguably 2007...

(If I had the ability to change the forum description, I'd certainly add Early 00's to it now... )

It's interesting seeing the word "retro" developing some ambiguity now that we've reached the point where we're beginning to see people on this site who were born in the new millennium. For me, the period of "retro" music begins after like 25 years of impact/release, so given my age that would mean early 90's music is retro. Makes sense considering I call the likes of Run-DMC & N.W.A. "retro hip-hop".